


Girl Meets Andi

by MerMagicAnaLily



Series: Andi Mack in Other Media [3]
Category: Andi Mack (TV), Girl Meets World
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-13 06:30:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21489901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerMagicAnaLily/pseuds/MerMagicAnaLily
Summary: (A little bit of self indulgence on the crossover we should have been able to have with DC two best shows, and maybe I’m a little bitter)Maybe it’s time for the girl to meet the world outside the Big City.
Relationships: Buffy Driscoll/Marty, Cyrus Goodman/T. J. Kippen
Series: Andi Mack in Other Media [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1651267
Comments: 20
Kudos: 48





	1. Chapter 1

**Cyrus**

“I can’t believe you’re leaving for SAVA, and we’re going to be all alone at Grant!” Cyrus said, dipping his baby tater in ketchup before popping it in his mouth. “It’s going to be high school without the three of us tacking it together! That feels like it should be illegal!”

“It’s not illegal,” Andi said. “But it might be a bit hard. It is a boarding school...but it’s only forty-five minutes away from here by car or bus, so we can meet up every weekend, instead of every day, and the parties and galleries there are epic, so you guys are already invited to every single one, and tickets will always be held for you.”

“Why not just give us an annual membership pass?” Buffy joked. “It’d be easier. And no chance of you losing the tickets for us. ”

“I’ll ask,” Andi laughed, nudging them. “Anyways, SAVA is still a month away, and I still haven’t gotten my rooming assignment, so there’s literally nothing else I can talk about or prepare for in that respect. So…” she looked between the two with a little smirk. “How are you guys? And your guys?”

“Living romantically vicariously,” Cyrus said. “I know that song and dance well. That was me throughout most of the Jonah-Tango.”

“Really sticking with the dance theming, aren’t you?” Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It suited the topic,” He argued back. “Well, T.J. and I personally are going absolutely amazingly. I mean there was the whole awkward and clumsy outing at my graduation party…”

“I never want to live through that again,” Buffy said. “And I wasn’t even the recipient.”

“And Jonah’s foot has a permanent address inside his mouth, doesn’t it?” Andi laughed. “‘Uh...gay is happy, so you should be happy!’ I could feel him digging his own grave in his mind.”

“That poor boy. I almost broke out the trauma blanket for him right there,” Cyrus said shaking his head. “But other than that, dates have been great, we text literally all the time, and there may or may not have been some kissing involved…”

“You two kissed?! Where?! How?!” Andi almost jumped across the table to him. 

“I’m getting you a seatbelt Miss Mack,” he laughed. “Swingset, of course, and we were talking...and he was really cute…and I might have leaned in…”

“You initiated the kiss?” Buffy asked and she hugged him. “My little Cyrus is growing up.”

“I am a man now Buffy. I was Bar Mitzvah’ed and everything. I’m an official, certified man.”

“You are...but you’re also our sweet little Cyrus,” she said, ruffling his hair. “And you will be right up to your one hundred and thirty first birthday.”

“Anyways...yes, I kissed him first...then the other kisses have been both of us and just...when the mood strikes, I guess. And now, Miss Driscoll, how are you and that beau of yours?”

Buffy blushed a little and looked down with a smile. “It’s been really good too…”

“Has it now?” Cyrus crooned, putting a hand on his chin, listening in. 

“Yes, in the normal boyfriend-girlfriend capacity. No life changing events like kissing because that happened forever ago at Andi’s party, so now it’s just boring old kissing occasionally on our dates. All the excitement is gone.”

“Liar,” Andi smirked knowingly. 

“In terms of romcom, the excitement is gone because we’re comfortable with each other, and happy. In terms of the two of us...we’re doing that indoor skydiving thing on Tuesday,” she relented. 

“That’s the Buffy I know,” Cyrus laughed. “And with Marty, you two are absolutely dangerous.” 

“Just the way we like it,” she smiled. “Besides, you shouldn’t be worried about how he acts with me...you should be worried about how he acts with your boyfriend and Jonah.”

“Tell me about it,” he said. “I caught T.J. scaling a building to put a slice of cheese on the roof. I had to beg him to come down safely. Apparently Marty dared him.”

“Probably said it would have been funny...and the dare was implied,” she said. “And yeah...we’re dating idiots...and Andi dated an idiot.”

“Yeah...glad I’m not going back to that,” she said with a little laugh. “I’ll let those guys share the single brain cell and keep all of mine to myself.” 

“Good for you for expecting more,” Buffy said. “And still managing to be friends with him.”

“He’s a sunshine child, and a great friend,” Andi said. “Just not the best boyfriend. I think he needs a little more growing up to do.”

“Well, it’s good that you both recognize that,” Buffy said, taking a baby tater and dipping it into barbecue sauce. 

“Oh my god Buffy, there’s no meat in a tater! Why are you dipping it into the barbecue sauce!” Cyrus groaned. 

“Because it’s delicious. Ketchup is just pizza sauce with added sugar.”

“Blasphemous!”

One of their phones dinged and they all went to check it. “Ooh, guys, update from SAVA! I got a dorm with a double shared bathroom!” 

“A what?” Cyrus asked. 

“It’s a bathroom that connects two rooms with two people...so four people per bathroom. Which is much better than the floor communal bathroom.”

“I could literally never handle that,” Cyrus said. “My cousin Rachel is in college and had a bathroom like that, and the horror stories she told me, I would rather bathe in a swimming pool...without board shorts.”

“Understandable,” Andi laughed. “But it’s just four girls to one bathroom. And I also got some info on my roommate.”

“Oh? And who’s going to be your new best friend when you abandon us?” 

“Cyrus, don’t even joke about that,” Andi said. “And her name is…”

* * *

**Riley **

“Maya Hart, I cannot believe you kept this a secret from me!” 

“Riley, you really need to relax.”

“You knew I was moving and you applied to...to…an art school! A fantastic, amazing, art school for only the best artists in all of the world-“

“High schoolers in the mostly Midwest area, though available for everyone around the country,” she said, looking at the human manifestation of a bubbling ball of energy she had the honor of calling her best friend. “Riley, why are you freaking out?”

“Why?! Why?! Because! You never told me! You just...drop this bomb on me two weeks before my mom and dad move me across the country! And you just...you’re moving too!”

“Riley.”

“We’re going to be far away from each other!”

“Riley.”

“We’ll never see each other again because you’re going to be amazing at art school and I will be at some random high school my dad is going to be teaching at in some state that has nothing with nothing around nothing!”

“Riley!”

“What?!”

“What high school are you going to?”

Riley paused and frowned, studying her friend. “Maya what does this-“

“What high school are you going to?”

Riley sighed. “Grant High. What a boring name. It’s not even the full name of a president, just Grant!”

“Where is Grant?”

“Maya, we’ve been over this.”

“Where is Grant?”

“Shadyside, in the Midwest,” she sighed. “Shadyside...such a gloomy name!”

“Riley...the art school I’m going to is Shadyside Academy of Visual Arts,” she said with a smirk. She watched Riley’s face shift through various emotions, until she finally reached understanding. 

“You’re...moving with me?”

“Hmmm…I’d go with alongside, or parallel, even. I’m going to be just under an hour away, Shawn is going to visit all the time, and I can take a bus to meet you on the weekends. But...we’re going to be separated on weekdays...which will be absolute torture, I’m not gonna lie.”

“You’re going to miss me?” 

“Of course I’m going to miss you, Sunshine. You’re my constant,” she said, giving her a hug. “And when your dad said you were going to move all the way over there, I bit the bullet and applied to art school...and then I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to jinx it until I found out.” 

“And you found out today?”

“Yes, today,” she said. “Found out all the information, hence the packing back at my house, and Shawn is asking your dad at this moment if I can stay with you guys until they open up the dorms for me.”

“You think my dad will go for it?” 

“They will,” she said. “Because Shawn is selling the two of us as a package deal.”

They heard screams of joy from the other side of the door and Corey Matthews, a grown adult, came through the door. “Shawn’s sleeping over!”

Riley had to smile and laugh at her goofball dad, who was holding onto her door and jumping up and down. “Dad…”

“Shawn is going to sleep over for two weeks! Straight, all the time! Sleepover!”

“Dad...and?”

“Oh, right. Maya is too because we’re all moving all together. But SHAWN!”

“Alright Mr. Matthews,” Maya said, putting her arm around Riley. “Time for you and your secret husband to not-so-secretly celebrate around your real, completely official and out-to-the-public wife?”

“She knew what she was signing up for!” He said, closing the door behind him. The girls laughed and rolled their eyes. 

“Your dad should just make it official with my dad,” Maya said. 

“Yeah...I kinda have to agree there,” she laughed. “But we’re starting high school in a new place, and you’re going to go to a boarding school...do you have any fun details yet?” 

“I’ve got a few, and we need to go to the bay window for this.”

“Bay window!” Riley gasped, looking at the little stoop. “How can we have our talks without this bay window?! This is our window!”

“Oh Rapunzel, we’ll find another place to throw your hair down. Although,” she said as they sat down and Lucas and Farkle opened up the window and crawled in. “I think your new window is going to snag less princes…”

The two exchanged a glance and looked over. “Well more princes for you, right Maya?” Farkle joked.

“Actually…”

“MAYA’S MOVING!”

“And there we go.” 

“Wait…” Lucas looked between them. “Maya’s moving?”

“Yes sir, Ranger Rick. I’m moving to the same city, just about an hour away in a boarding school.”

“For art!”

“For art,” Maya repeated. “An art school in the Midwest, called SAVA.”

“You’re both leaving?” Farkle asked. 

“What about us?” 

Both girls had to stop and look at their boys...well two of their boys. 

“You guys really don’t see anything wrong with just coming into her house through her window?” Zay said, coming in from the front door. “I went to Mrs. Matthews and showed some Texas charm, and was let in.” He looked around and frowned. “I missed something, didn’t I?”

“Riley is moving, Maya is also moving, and we’re going to stay here without them,” Lucas said. 

“Wait...you guys are just leaving us...like that?”

“I mean...not exactly…” Riley said. “I didn’t get a choice.” 

“And I...have never had anything constant in my life except for her,” Maya said, hugging her. “I need my princess.” 

“And I need my peaches,” she said, looking at her. They really could not imagine living a life without the other. 

“And what about us?” Farkle said. 

“You’re all so smart and resourceful…” Riley said. “You guys will manage and create something epic.”

Farkle bit on the inside of his cheek. “Maybe...maybe we will…”

“So...you said you got some details about your new school, like maybe your roommate?” Riley said. “Who’s the lucky person that is going to steal you away?”

“Nobody is ever going to steal me away from you, sweetie,” she said. “Well...according to this email, my roommate is some girl named... _ Andi Mack _ .”


	2. Chapter 2

**Maya**

Riley had to be saved from her downward spiral on a near daily basis for the past few days. The boys seemed to be angry at them since neither Lucas, Zay, or even Farkle answered their texts or calls and didn’t even hang out with them. Even Maya wasn’t handling it well, despite putting out a “cool” exterior. She was also missing her boys.

“Maya...maybe we should-“

“No.”

“But-“

“No.”

“See-“

“Riley!” She grabbed her best friend’s shoulders. “They’re mad, and they’re also going to miss us. Let them be mad, and I’m sure they’re going to come around and take one of Farkle’s private jets to fly over and visit us.”

“Farkle has private jets?”

“I’d assume, he’s filthy rich.”

Riley sighed. “You really think so?”

Maya softened and hugged Riley. “They’re idiots, but they’re our idiots. Our idiots aren’t stupid. Not even Huckleberry. He’s a rare case of a pretty face with a brain.”

Riley let out a little chuckle. “Well, at least they’re not acting like Ava. I had to unpack her from Auggie’s suitcase twice already before my mom actually killed her. That reminds me...you better check your duffel bag before we leave tomorrow.”

“Yes ma'am,” Maya laughed, giving her a little salute. “Are you ready for tomorrow?”

“Our first day in a new place? It’s going to be weird. I finally figured out subways! I can use subways now! And I’m moving to a place with no subways! All that work for nothing!” She wailed with some drama in her voice. “Shadyside has no subways at all! They only have busses and bicycle racks!”

“Well, time to learn how to ride a bike,” Maya said. “And by learn to ride a bike, I mean. Learn how to ride it well even on hills and to ride it for hours and hours and hours.”

Riley closed the mouth she had opened to protest, and instead got under the covers of her bed, waiting for Maya to join her. “Are you going to behave in school without me?”

“I make no promises,” she said, getting in the bed with Riley. “But I’ll imagine you yelling right next to me.”

“Real yelling next to you didn’t help you after all these years.”

“Yeah...but now I’ve got real stakes. If I get kicked out of SAVA...then I have to move back to New York without you.”

“Aww, you do love me.”

“Of course I love you, honey. More than anyone. Rileytown is the best place to go when life gets too real.”

“What will you do when things get real now? You’re only in Rileytown when you’re with me.”

“Then I’ll call you...I’ll call you the old fashioned way and listen to you talk about your day until you fall asleep mid-sentence.”

“I don’t do that!”

“You did it twice last week.”

“I don’t do that too often!”

Maya laughed and turned in the bed, facing Riley. She studied her face, her posture, the expressive emotions that played out in her eyes. Maya loved seeing all those different shifting facial features. “Hey, Sunshine?”

“Yes Peaches?” 

“Promise me one thing, only one thing, for the rest of my life.”

“What is it?”

Maya sighed and let out a small smile.”Never change. 

* * *

**Cyrus**

“Seriously?! Wal*Mart?!” Cyrus let out an exasperated sigh. “You three are banned from Wal*Mart?!”

“We literally only wore red shirts and khakis…”

“And…?”

T.J. sighed. “And walked into the break room and took pictures pretending to be spies.”

“Teej, you are so lucky I like you so much.”

T.J. smiles at Cyrus, his boyfriend, his wonderful boyfriends, with a smile so warm it could turn sand into glass. “I know. I really am. Lucky, and blessed, and...honored, that you like me.”

Cyrus almost buckled under that smile. “That’s mean!”

“What is?”

“Using those eyes and that smile when I’m supposed to be mad at you! Damnit, I guess I have to forgive you. It’s impossible to stay mad at you.”

“You think I could ever stay mad at you if the roles were reversed?”

“T.J., I don’t do anything of the sort.”

“Student court trial?” Cyrus flushed a deep red, and T.J. laughed, taking his hand. “It’s one of my favorite memories, so trust me, you really couldn’t make me permanently angry ab out that if you tried. 

“Please don’t breaking up that debacle again. I was so worried that you’d get suspended, or worse, expelled.”

“But I wasn’t, and we still hang out…”

“Not to mention more than hang out together. We are dating...right?”

“I love hearing that,” T.J. said. “My favorite words. 

Cyrus blushed again, shoving a handful of baby taters in his mouth when Amber came in and set her things down next to Cyrus as she put her apron on. “How’s Shadyside’s cutest couple?”

“Pearly you have a death wish if you say that around Buffy,” Cyrus said. “She firmly believes she and Marty are the cutest couple. They constantly do things to prove it. Marty filled both her regular locker and her gym locker with roses at the end of last year. Two separate rose avalanches in one day!”

“Well, I’m not saying that while she’s here,” Amber said, gesturing around the restaurant. “See? No Buffy, thus you two are cute.” 

“Are we actually the cutest couple, though?” T.J. asked. “Or the only out gay couple so teenage girls can scream at us that they ‘ship’ us?” There was a slight bitterness to his tone, and Amber immediately raised an eyebrow.

“Something happened, didn’t it?”

T.J. sighed. “At basketball camp, one of the girls there...Stephanie Zhang, found out I was gay and she kept trying to...I don’t know...make me her ‘gay best friend’ or something. She constantly pestered me, wanting me to help her with clothes...and makeup…” he winced at that word, like he couldn’t even imagine going near makeup. “And she always wanted me to ‘spill the tea,’ and I didn’t even know what that was! I had to ask Jonah for what that meant! JONAH! It was ridiculous and it like like she was looking for one of those gay guys on sitcoms or reality TV who are adorable, and sweet, and… ‘sassy’... why are all the gay guys on TV portrayed that way? Why can’t any of the guys on TV be just like all the other guys who just happens to like other guys?! Why can’t there be a...a...I don’t know…”

“I get it,” Cyrus said. “Especially since some things I do tend to align with the stereotype more than you…”

“Yeah...but I don’t want you to change. Stereotype or not. You’re perfect, you’re Cyrus.”

Cyrus blushed again, squeezing T.J.’s hand. 

“Oh man, I’m sorry about all that stereotyping thing…that majorly sucks,” Amber said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. 

“It’s better than the people on the street who pull us aside and ask ‘who’s the girl in the relationship?’” Cyrus added.

“That’s gross.”

“We know!”

She sighed and sat down next to Cyrus. “Want me to distract you guys from the homophobic microaggressions and share some Grant High gossip?”

“Well, it could be nice to be prepared,” Cyrus said. “Just no mean or catty gossip.” 

“Nothing of the sort,” she promised. “But the history teacher, Dr. Virelli, retired, and they hired some guy from New York instead.”

“Really? Some guy from the big city? Do tell.”

“Well, Virelli was like, 100 years old, and everybody said that he was ridiculously boring. Even I said that. He droned on and on, pretty much reading from the book and barely called on anyone. It was literally all about memorizing dates. But this new guy, Mr. Matthews, he was a middle school teacher in New York City and was hand selected to the position by the superintendent.”

“Did you get the FBI to do a background check on him?” T.J. asked, amazed. 

“No, Shelby’s mom is the secretary at the school and I’m on the dance team with Shelby, so she was sharing all the details with us. We wanted to know if we should be worried about our grades in his class.”

“Should we?” Cyrus asked, starting to worry now. 

“I don’t think so. We heard he was good but nothing about him being hard…”

“I just hope he’s not tough.”

* * *

**Maya**

Mr. Corey Matthews was currently weeping into the arms of Maya’s stepfather, Shawn Hunter, while everybody else sat around the breakfast table eating oatmeal Topanga made. 

“You’d think they were saying goodbye forever like that,” Riley said, watching. 

“At least I’ll be in SAVA when he comes back to visit in three weeks,” Maya said. “Matthews! Shawn has to go back to my momma!”

Corey pulled away. “But...he’s the most important person in my world.”

Topanga sighed. “My whole life! There might have been a Corey and Topanga standard of romantic relationships, but that’s nothing compared to the Corey and Shawn relationship.”

“Well, if they were like this when they were our age, at least you knew what you’re getting into,” Riley said. 

“He’s just lucky that I love that Brillo pad glued to his head,” she said, watching the two. “Girls, go separate your fathers before Shawn misses his flight.”

They nodded and pulled the two grown men apart. Shawn grabbed Riley tightly while Corey held onto Maya. 

“Cor, please let me take mini-you with me so I miss you less.”

“Please let go of me, Uncle Shawn. You’re going to miss your flight.”

“More time with Shawn?!” Corey looked at his wife elated. 

“NO! Corey, if Shawn misses his flight, he loses two hundred dollars.” Both of them screamed and let go of the girls. Shawn picked up his suitcase.

“Call me when you land Shawn?”

“Only if you call me everyday, Cor.”

Auggie got up from the table and shut the door between them, and looked up when Corey made strangled gasps come out of his mouth. “You two were taking too long.”

“Auggie! I was saying goodbye!”

“When I said goodbye to Doy, he screamed and ran away. THen with Ava, mommy picked her up and carried her out when she asked me how I was going to buy gifts for her,” he sent a glare to Topanga, who ignored it. 

“Goodbyes are different for everyone. Except those two, those two don’t say goodbye, they’ll never say goodbye!” Corey said, pointing at the girls, currently eating oatmeal with linked arms. 

Maya shrugged and pulled Riley even closer. “We’re lucky. We’re fate…”

The doorbell rang. 

“We were not expecting that…” Riley said, completing Maya.

“Shawn! If you forgot something, leave it! We’ll ship it to you!” Topanga shouted. The doorbell rang again and Maya decided to cut to the chase and open the door herself. However, nothing could have prepared her, or anyone, for who was on the other side of the door. 

“Ladies.”

“Farkle?!”

“Wait!” Riley jumped up and rushed to the door. “Oh my god! Farkle!” 

“Didya miss me?” He asked before Riley hugged him tightly. Even Maya relented and hugged him too. 

“We did!” Riley shouted. “How long are you here for?”

“We’re here indefinitely.”

“Wait…” Maya paused and pulled away from the group hug. “We?”

Two heads popped out from the corners of the doorway. “Surprise!”

“Lucas! Zay!”

“What’s Bucky McBoing Boing doing here with Buckaroo?! Did you guys follow us?”

“Buckaroo? That’s a new one,” Zay said. “I think I’m catching up to you Friar.”

“You followed Riley,” Lucas pointed out. 

“I talked to my parents,” Farkle said. “Who talked to their parents, and hired a ‘nanny’ who’s more really a nanny but really an adult who’s going to live with us for legal reasons,” he explained. “And now we live here just a few streets over and we’ll be going to Grant High with you in a week.”

“That’s...incredible!” Riley said. “You guys love us that much?”

“Of course we do,” Lucas said. “I moved away from my friends once before. Now I’m moving to be closer. I like what you did to me...and I think I want to hold on to New York Lucas a lot longer...and without you guys, I don’t want to be Texas Lucas again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to make my day, please comment after you read this! I don’t care what you comment at all, even just a :-) would make me very happy! And it would definitely be encouraging for the impending doom of Law School Finals that are coming up.


	3. Chapter 3

**Riley**

“Maya, how is it possible that you have so much stuff?!” Zay said, putting another box down. “I didn’t know you owned this much stuff!”

“Hey, don’t be mean,” Riley said. 

“I’m not! I’m saying my back started to hurt around box number eight,” he said, going back out and grabbing another box. Riley laughed a little and went to Maya, who was undoing her suitcase and hanging her dresses up in her closet. She smiled and wordlessly grabbed some hangers and started helping. 

“How are you feeling Peaches?”

“I’m...a little nervous. And my roommate still isn’t here, but I have a feeling that this person is going to be amazing, and an amazing artist and I’m…”

“Also an amazing artist,” she said. “You wouldn’t say a sculptor is better than a painter, would you?”

“No,” she sighed. “And Monet isn’t better than Picasso...alright, I get it. How am I going to survive without your pep talks, sweetie?”

“You have them in your favorite contacts.”

“Yes I do and I love it,” she said, giving her a hug. “So...what if I absolutely hate my new roommate because she’s a mean, cruel, and horrible person.”

“Maya, there’s going to be someone in this room that’s mean, it would be you,” she joked. “And you can’t even be that really because you’re a secret ball of sunshine.”

“With a hard candy exterior, just the way I like it,” she said. “So...I wonder when I get to meet my roommate.”

Before Riley could say anything else, another girl came in holding two boxes. “Cyrus, you’re literally carrying her bedding, how did I beat you in here?”

“Because you’re an athlete, and I wheeze for a living,” a boy said behind her, carrying a different box. 

“Well, I have a feeling that the new roommate is here, Peaches,” Riley said. 

“I second that,” she said. “Would you like to do the honors?”

“Certainly!” Riley smiled and went up to the two new people. “Hi! I’m Riley! That’s Maya, my best friend and the person who’s going to live here.”

“Sup,” Maya nodded. 

“Hey, I’m Buffy, and this is Cyrus. We’re helping our friend move in. And fair warning, we’ve got a bit of a caravan helping her move in.”

“I’ve got a circus,” Maya said, and Farkle walked in, holding a suitcase and a piece of paper. 

“Maya, you have no science classes, at all, whatsoever.”

“Meet the first clown of my circus,” Maya said. “Farkle, this is Buffy and Cyrus, Buffy and Cyrus, that’s my Farkle.”

“Farkle? Is that a nickname?” Buffy asked.

“No, my parents have creative minds,” he said. “Is Buffy a nickname from the tv show?”

“No...my parents just loved the tv show,” she said. “Nice to meet you Farkle.”

“Nice to meet you guys too. So...who’s moving into the room?”

“Me,” another girl said walking in. “I’m Andi.”

“Maya, and I’m hoping that the sitcom entrances are going to end now?”

“Depends, how many people are helping you move in?”

“Maya! How do you even have my Tombstone trophy?! It’s supposed to be with...my grandfather…” Lucas said, coming in, holding a box and a trophy. 

“The rodeo clown from the circus is here!” Maya said with a smile. “Sorry Ranger Rick, but your Pappy Joe wasn’t being too careful with it.”

Lucas sighed. “My name's not Rick...it’s Lucas.”

“Andi,” she said, introducing herself. “Buffy, and Cyrus. Why does she call you Ranger Rick?”

“Ranger Rick is one of the many names in her repertoire,” he said. “There’s Ranger Rick, Ranger Roy who fills in for him, Huckleberry, Bucky McBoing Boing, and the ever famous, incredibly annoying, still going to kill Cletus someday for this…”

“Ha-HUUUUUURRRRRR!!!!” Maya said, right in his face. 

“Yeah, that. That right there,” Lucas sighed. 

“I’m getting flashbacks,” Cyrus said, looking at Buffy. 

“I never did anything like that.”

“Oh really?”

“Yeah…”

Another guy popped his head in the doorway. “Andi, help. Cece is already trying to figure out what things to donate.”

“Oooooh,” Buffy nodded. “Docious Magocious.”

The boy at the doorway let out a sigh. “In front of new people too?” 

“You and me,” Lucas said. “I deal with Bucky McBoing Boing. You’re already doing better. Lucas.”

“Jonah,” he said, introducing himself. “Who’s moving in?”

“Blonde Maya.”

“And the rest?”

“Going to the public school.”

“Really? Which one?” Cyrus asked. 

“Grant High,” Riley said. “Which is forty five minutes away from here.” 

“No way, that’s where we’re going too,” Jonah said. “How about we help finish unpacking and we can all go grab a bite to eat?”

“Sure,” Andi said. “If it’s okay with you guys? I mean, I’d like to get to know my roommate.”

“Might not be a bad idea to know more about each other,” Maya said. “I am going to be living with you most of the time.” Riley let out a squeak at that, and hugged Riley. “Oh sweetie, you’re going to do just fine.”

“Peaches…”

Maya sighed and picked her up, and then carried her over and dropped her into Lucas’s arms. “There. Take care of the sunshine. Make sure she doesn’t run away.”

“I think I’ve got it…somehow.”

An adult walked past the hallway. “LUCAS!” Lucas panicked and dropped Riley to the ground. 

“All good sir, I’m sorry sir!”

* * *

**Andi**

“So...those are your friends, huh?” Andi asked, dipping a fry in honey mustard. She and Maya decided to grab a table for themselves at the diner nearby and get to know each other.

“Some of them,” Maya said. “There’s one friend you didn’t personally meet yet. His name is Isaiah, but we call him Zay. And then there’s the adults in our life...and Riley’s seven year old brother who also thinks I’m his sister.”

“That’s really cute.”

“Yeah…” Maya said. “And your friends?”

“Yeah, that was only some of them. We call it the core four. Within that is what Cyrus called the Good Hair Crew: me, him, and Buffy.”

“That Jonah kid has good hair.”

“Jonah joined our friend group in the seventh grade. Cyrus, Buffy, and I were friends since the second grade.”

“That I can respect,” Maya said. “But you leave Jonah all on his lonesome sometimes?”

“He formed his own trio,” Andi said. “Part of the extended friend group. Apparently I’ve got a lot of friends.”

“Never a bad thing. Are they good friends?”

“They’re the best.”

“I’m leaving my best friends with them, especially my sunshine Riley. I need to know that people won’t let her fade in the shadows.”

“My people won’t. They never let me fade in the shadows.” 

“Good,” Maya said, eating her chicken tenders. “So...who’s the trio Jonah’s in.”

Andi laughed at that. “Their names are Marty and T.J., and we call them the Dumbass Trio.”

“No way.”

“Way.”

“We have one of those...oh no...they’re going to meet each other.”

“Should we start a countdown to destruction?”

“Probably,” Andi laughed. “I’ve also got another friend named Amber. She’s older, so I can call her and ask her to lead you guys around the high school and make sure your friends are all okay.”

“That would actually be great, I’m not gonna lie,” she said. She looked over at the other table. Jonah, Cyrus, Buffy, Riley, Lucas, and Zay were all sitting together, getting to know each other. 

“That’s Zay?”

“Yeah...good friend, zero filter. He needs protection. That’s why he has Lucas.”

“If he’s really a good friend, he’ll also have Buffy...and probably T.J. and Marty.”

“Two of the Dumbasses?” 

“T.J. and Marty together are the Chaos Twins,” Andi said with a smile. “I’m gonna miss not being with them every second of every day.” 

“Yeah...that I know,” Maya said, keeping her eyes on them. “You know, Andi, there’s one thing that I’m sorry I’m going to miss out on this year, and I think it’s a pity you’re going to miss out on entirely.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re not going to have the best teacher in the world.” She said, shifting her gaze to another table where a couple and their seven-year-old son were eating together. “At least...you won’t have him as a proper teacher.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mr. Matthews has a heart that’s too big for this world. And he’s going to teach you no matter how far you are. He’s teaching everyone. He’s teaching the world...and don’t you dare tell him that I ever said this...but I’m going to miss him.”

* * *

**Buffy**

“So...was it hard helping her move in?” Marty asked, jogging alongside Buffy. “You’ve been quiet since you got back.”

“Yeah,” she said. “It’s always been the three of us, you know? Andi, Cyrus, and Buffy, the trio who could conquer anything. The kids with the good hair.” 

“You still have good hair,” he said. “And you’re not saying goodbye to Andi for good. I mean, you guys have plans for the weekend, right?”

“You’re right,” she said. “But we all kind of had this idea in our head of always being together throughout high school and everything. Now...we’re going to figure it out.” 

“You’re not going to be alone…” Marty said. “We have to defend our title as cutest couple. T.J. and Cyrus are going to try and top us, and we’ve got to be at least three steps ahead.”

“Marty, what are you planning?”

“I may have made a down payment on a teddy bear for you…”

“Marty, what kind of teddy bear needs a down payment?”

“An eight foot tall one.”

“Marty! That’s bigger than my Christmas tree last year!”

“I know…”

Buffy looked him up and down, and then she smirked evilly. “T.J. and Cyrus are never going to top that.”

“Did I tell you exactly how much I like you?” He asked laughed, putting his arm around her. 

“You’re just trying to distract me from my workout, Marty from the Party...whose last name I still don’t exactly know…”

“You don’t know my last name?”

“I’ve been calling you Marty from the Party.”

“Well...you’re not wrong…”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“My last name is Festeiro. Martin Festeiro.”

“Explain your previous statement!”

“Put my last name through Google Translate,” he said laughing, and sprinted ahead. Buffy frowned, and considered sprinting ahead to beat him, but decided to take out her phone and typed in the name. Google automatically realized the word was Portuguese and when she saw the translation, she groaned and sprinted up to catch him then. 

“Your name literally means PARTY BOY?!” 

All she heard was cackling up ahead. 


	4. Chapter 4

**Corey**

It was the first day of high school, and Corey already had his room decorated, and made sure that all of the children that followed him around like ducklings were off to a good start. Maya’s SAVA roommate set up all those friends with her own friends so they wouldn’t be alone. Now he was just feeling good as he walked from the teacher’s lounge to his classroom with a fresh cup of coffee, ready to see how these poor little midwestern children were going to handle his lessons. Life was good. 

“Yeah, you know how it is,” a blonde kid was talking to Farkle by the lockers. “I mean, brown hair and big brown eyes you can get lost in? They’re just an irresistible combination. You can’t stop me from kissing that,” he said with a laugh. 

Corey frowned. Brown hair? Big brown eyes? That was a familiar combination. Too familiar of a combination. So familiar it was right in front of him closing her locker door. His daughter, his beautiful daughter who already went through enough Lucas drama...he needed to protect her! 

He rushed over to her, screaming “No!” And picked Riley up, carrying her to his classroom and depositing her in the front seat. She was in his next class anyways.

“You!” She shouted, going up to him as other students filed in, including Lucas, Zay, and Farkle. “You are my Feeney!”

“It just happens! Things just keep happening! They happen in totally weird, random, but totally plausible ways!” He looked over and saw the blonde boy come to the door and he screamed, rushing forward and closing the door in his face. “Not you!”

“What? But...this is my class…”

Lucas already could sense where this was going and gently pried him away from the door. “Mr. Matthews, you need to stop doing that.” The blonde kid opened the door. 

“This is World History with Mr. Matthews, right?” 

“Yes, you’re in the right place T.J. Learn to expect the literal last thing you expected when it comes to this class,” Lucas said. 

“T.J….T.J….T.J. Kippen?” 

“Yes sir.”

“You!”

“Me?”

“You!”

“Oh no,” Riley said, looking around at her friends, who just shrugged. Even Buffy and Marty sitting next to her were at a loss. 

“You!” Corey said again. “I heard you in the hallway! About kissing pretty brown hairs and brown eyes! You stay away from her!” He said, pointing at Riley, and that’s when she had trouble containing her laughter. 

“Daddy…”

“Yes darling?”

“You’re going to be so glad Maya isn’t here for this next part.”

“What are you talking about?” He frowned and looked at T.J. again. “Explain!”

T.J. had to put his hand over his mouth not to laugh outright at his new goofy teacher. “I can absolutely promise you that I have no interest in your daughter.”

“But...brown hair and brown eyes! Look at her! That’s her!” Corey said, pointing at Riley. Even Buffy had her head down and was shaking from laughter.

“I agree that those fit her description,” T.J. said. “But...I was actually talking about a very specific person in the hallway.”

“Dad, drop this now and you’ll walk away fine.”

“Who were you talking about? Anyone in here?” Corey asked. 

“Dad, if you value any part of yourself you will drop this.”

“No, I want to hear it. Who is he talking about? And how do I know I have nothing to worry about? Because she’s off limits for life!”

“I got that.”

“That means that no matter what happens to your current relationship, she’s off limits!”

“I’m understanding.”

“Dad, last chance.”

“Who is it, Mr. Kippen? Who is this person that you were referring to? Hmmm?” 

The last thing Corey expected was for someone sitting in the second row to raise their hand. And he definitely did not expect who raised their hand. “He was talking about me, Mr. Matthews...my name is Cyrus Goodman.”

Corey’s jaw dropped and he looked between the two boys. “You and him?” T.J. nodded.

“That’s my boyfriend.”

“Huh…” he looked back at T.J. after looking at Cyrus and dug into his wallet. “I’ll give you a fifteen dollar gift card to Starbucks if you promise never to bring this up in class again and pretend this never happened.”

“How do you have that gift card?”

“My wife will not get a gift card tonight. I was planning on surprising her with a ‘I hope you had a great first day at your new job’ gift card. She’ll get a hug instead.”

T.J. laughed and took the card. “Thanks for my next coffee date then,” he said, sitting in the open seat next to Cyrus. Buffy got up from her desk and even wiped her eyes from the tears of laughter. 

“Okay...anyone I should actually worry about?” He asked, and another kid walked into the room, frowning at the atmosphere. 

“I missed something, didn’t I?”

“You did, Jonah,” Buffy said, still wiping her eyes. “You did.”

Corey looked him up and down and then looked at the rest of the class. “Him? Is he a worry?”

Buffy shrugged. “I give it a seventy percent chance.”

“Okay, good,” he said, then looked Jonah in the eyes. “I had enough drama with that one dating,” he said, pointing at Riley. “Don’t be drama.”

“Yeah, trust me, I’m over drama too...am I in the right room?”

“Yes you are,” T.J. said. 

“Is it always going to be like this?” Jonah asked again.

“Kind of,” Farkle said. “But you won’t be bored.”

“Cool…” he said, sitting down. 

Corey stared at him again then shook it off. “Alright...well...welcome everyone to World History with me. I’m Mr. Matthews, and I take a different approach to history.”

Cyrus raised his hand. “Is the homework on the syllabus?”

“There is no syllabus.” Everyone unfamiliar with his class started murmuring, worried. “There’s no syllabus because my job is to help you learn from history,” he said. “And you guys might need lessons to come from history out of order. You’ll need to know a few important dates, but only the ones that matter. History is more than just dates, so that’s why I teach the way I do. So...first lesson…”

“Belgium 1831?!” Farkle asked. 

“No,” he said, turning to write on the board. “East and West Germany. Somebody start me off.”

* * *

**Cyrus**

“So...that class was...different,” Cyrus said, sitting at the table with his old and new friends. “Is he always like that?”

“Yup,” Zay said. “He’s insane, goes out of order, easily goes into tangents, and cares too much about our lives.”

“And that’s why he’s the best teacher you’ll ever have,” Lucas said. “He’s helped us out a lot. Taught us the secret of life.”

“A history teacher taught you the secret of life?”

“People change people,” Riley said. “Secret of life.”

“And us helps them,” Farkle finished. “Those six words will change your life, and you’ll understand everything that you encounter from now on.” 

T.J. looked over and squeezed Cyrus’s hand. “He’s right. Seems like you figured that secret out beforehand, and you mastered it.”

“I did?”

“Yeah,” Buffy said. “You did.”

Riley looked around. “Anyone want to link us into what’s you guys are talking about?” 

“When I first met everyone here,” T.J. said. “I was a huge, sexist jerk...put simply.”

“I called him Toxic T.J. Kippen,” Buffy added. 

“Yeah...that. Well, I was not a good guy when I first met them. It was getting to know Cyrus that led me to become better, and I wanted to become better. I made good choices, and did the next right thing...and now, I couldn’t be happier.”

“People change people,” Farkle said. “You were changed.”

“And I’m actually afraid of going back.” T.J. said quietly.

“Me too,” Lucas said. “Back in Texas...I wasn’t a good kid. They call me moral compass now, but I wasn’t always like that. I’m not going back.”

“We’ll keep each other in check,” T.J. said. 

“I think we’ll do well, like that.”

Riley put her chin on the table. “I need my Peaches to keep me in check.” The original Shadyside gang looked at her confused until Farkle piped in. 

“Her best friend Maya.”

“Is she like our Andi?” Cyrus asked. 

“More like Riley is your Andi, based on what you told us,” Zay said. “Ball of sunshine. Who’s the firepower and recklessness and potential bad influence?”

“We don’t have one of those,” Buffy said. “Well...partially Amber and…”

“Bex?” Cyrus laughed. 

“Who’s Bex?” Lucas asked.

“Andi’s mother...who we thought was her sister until Andi’s 13th birthday,” Buffy said. 

“Okay, come again?” 

“Yeah...it’s insane,” Cyrus said. “You’ll get used to it. Now she’s the cool mom.”

“That’s...an interesting life.”

“You’ll get used to it.” 

_____________________________

**Corey**

“East and West Germany. What can you tell me about them?” Corey said, asking the class. 

“After World War 2, when Germany fell, the allies cut it up into little pieces,” Farkle said. 

“Yes, and?”

“On the east side, the Soviet Union took control and implemented communism, and on the west side, England, France, and the United States put democracy in action there,” Lucas said. “And in the capital of Berlin, they walls holding them apart.”

“The Berlin Wall,” Corey said. “Cement walls with a no man’s land and snipers in the middle, killing anyone who tried to cross without permission. After decades living like that, the people of the two sides of Germany thought they would never get along, like they were two different species. Once the wall came down, it took a while for people to get readjusted to their new lives, but in the end, no matter the distance or walls, they were all Germans in the end. They were all people who had hopes, and dreams, and love.”

* * *

**Maya**

“So...that’s art school, huh?” 

“Yeah, that’s art school,” Andi said, setting her things down. “And I was surprised about finding some people I knew here.”

“Libby and that other guy, Walker. I could sense some history there.”

Andi sighed. “I liked him...at the same time I liked Jonah…”

“Pretty boy?”

“Yeah, pretty boy,” she said with a laugh. “But I left Jonah alone to go out with Walker, and then later, Walker went out with Buffy...and we were kind of...awkward. He made us both shoes, painted custom shoes.”

“Oh my god,” Maya said. “I know that story. That’s me, Riley, and Lucas.”

“Your pretty boy?”

“Ha-Huurrr.”

Andi looked at her. “Walker ended with both of us. He’s going on to date other people. How’s Lucas?”

“To be determined,” she said. “But we promised that we were going to be friends first. Anything else comes second.”

“And it works?” 

“We make it work,” She said. “And we also know that no matter what happens with the Lucas situation, Riley and I are sisters, and we’re going to remain best friends, sisters.”

“Yeah,” Andi said. “I know that. Walker wasn’t the only triangle. Amber and I have a thing with Jonah going on too. Neither of us are dating him now because Jonah is not ready to date.”

“Lucas is too ready to date,” She said. “And we all need to figure things out properly.”

“Why?”

“Because, Riley and I made a promise not to let this come between us. I need her more than anything.”

“She’s the most important thing in your life?”

“Not even up for debate. If I lose Riley, I’ll lose everything.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Farkle**

It’s been three months since they all moved to Shadyside and Farkle missed Isadora Smackle. He offered her a place to come with them, saying that it wouldn’t be the same friend group without her, but her mother didn’t let her go live in a house with minimal adult supervision and her boyfriend. So now all he had to do was look forward to Christmas, when she was going to be allowed to visit, so long as she stayed with Riley and Maya, and the Matthewses already agreed to let her stay. 

“Hey, Farkle!” T.J. sat down next to him at the cafeteria table for the breakfast session before classes. “Do you think you can help me with Algebra? You’re probably the smartest guy here.”

“I am the smartest, I’m actually a certifiable genius. But why do you need my help? You’re pretty smart too from what I’ve seen. At least in History, you ace it easily.”

“I’ve got a good teacher there...even if he is a bit eccentric,” he said with a laugh. He and Mr. Matthews had gotten over their first day embarrassment and were on very good terms now, especially after he apologized. “But I have Dyscalculia, and Cyrus normally helps me, but he’s not here today.”

“You have Dyscalculia? I didn’t realize,” he said. “You’re pretty open about it?”

“Didn’t use to be,” he said. “I wanted to keep it a secret...even from my teachers, but Cyrus and Buffy helped me realize that it’s just my brain hardwired a bit differently, and as soon as I finish learning how to adapt to it, it’s not something that would hold me back or that people can mock me for. The same way nobody could mock me for being in a wheelchair or deaf...unless they were absolute jerks, but then that’s on them,” 

“You’re absolutely right, and there’s nothing wrong with you for having a differently wired brain. Means that you give the rest of us a different perspective.”

“I’ve...never thought of it that way.”

“That’s how my girlfriend describes her Asperger’s Syndrome. Everyone sees the world one way from one angle, and she’s given a different angle to view life.”

“She sounds smart.”

“Smarter than me.”

“Now that has got to be impossible,” T.J. laughed. “Or scary.”

“It’s both. You’ll love her,” Farkle said. “How come Cyrus isn’t helping you today? Is he sick?”

“It’s Yom Kippur, he never goes to school on Yom Kippur.” 

“Yom Kippur, that’s a Jewish holiday, right? The Day of Atonement and Repentance, where they fast and pray, right?”

“Yeah, it is. Not many people know much about Jewish holidays other than Hanukkah.” 

“There was a legacy project that Mr. Matthews had us do in New York, and I found out one of my ancestors was a Jewish kid adopted by a Christian family to escape the Holocaust, and I want to do all the research I can about this part of the culture I never knew about before.”

“You should really talk to Cyrus when you see him next,” T.J. said. “He’ll talk your ear off about it. He loves teaching the rest of us about his culture, and invites us to all the different celebrations at his house, and don’t even get me started on the massive blow-out he had for his Bar Mitzvah,” T.J. said, with a dreamy look in his eyes. 

“You really like him, don’t you?” Farkle said. “You get this look in your eyes whenever you talk about him, it’s a good look.”

“Yeah,” T.J. said, smiling and looking down a little. “Cyrus was the person who changed me for the better, he was my best friend and the only person I could be totally honest with, and that was before we started dating. I was so nervous to come out to him and tell him I liked him because I didn’t want to lose our friendship.”

“Were you afraid of Cyrus being straight?”

“Hmm, oh no, I knew he was gay. I just never said anything because I assumed he wasn’t ready to tell me. I just had no idea if he liked me or not.” 

“How did you know that he was gay but didn’t know if he liked you?” Farkle asked.

“Okay, you know of the gay-dar, right? Or the concept of it?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, imagine that mine is freaky good. Like, freaky insanely good. I can look at someone and get their sexuality right with like, a really really low margin of error. I just never say anything to the person because it’s not my place.”

“Okay…”

“But imagine that there’s also a flirt-dar...a radar meant to find out if people are flirting with you.”

“Okay?”

“Mine was smashed into a million pieces before I ever knew what flirting was. I have no clue how people feel about me and if they’re flirting with me. The only one I’m absolutely sure about flirting with me is Cyrus, and that’s only AFTER we got together. There was this or there girl first, Kira. I had no idea she liked me even though it was painfully obvious to everyone around me. So there’s Cyrus thinking that I’m dating Kira, and Kira, thinking we’re flirting with each other, and me, wishing Cyrus would just kiss me already.”

“Sounds complicated.”

“Yup.”

“So with me? What do you see?”

T.J. looked him over. “Absolutely straight, as a pin.”

“Huh, I get mistaken for gay a lot, especially when I was younger.”

“People look for stereotypes. Would you have thought I was gay if you didn’t’ know I was dating Cyrus?”

“I think Mr. Matthews proved that no, people would never think that unless they knew you.”

T.J. nodded. “It gets annoying sometimes, and I have on more than one occasion considered tattooing a rainbow flag on my forehead when girls try to ask me out since they never see me hanging around any girl.” 

Farkle laughed a little, then paused. “Would you tell anyone what you found, if they promise not to share until the people you’re talking about are ready to come out?”

“If I trust that the person has the best intentions.”

“Would you trust me about my friends?”

T.J. paused. “Yes...I would, but...I can’t prove anything. I mean, I do occasionally get it wrong…”

“Maybe, but you might pick up on things the rest of us can’t.”

“Why do you want to know anyways?”

“I like helping my friends, and I just want what’s best for them. I can sometimes figure out people’s feelings from observation, and I want to have a second opinion on some of my observations.” 

“Does this have anything to do with the love triangle in your group? Zay told me about that at baseball practice.”

“Yeah, because I noticed something else, and I want an objective confirmation.”

“Alright, but you have to swear, nothing comes out until they’re ready.”

“I’d never hurt my friends T.J. They’re the best thing I have.” T.J. nodded. “So...Zay?”

“I think he likes both boys and girls. He’s just now coming around to the boys part, especially after seeing me and Cyrus.”

“Yeah, I’ve been noticing that too. Okay, and Jonah?”

“He likes girls...but, he doesn’t like everything that comes with being a boyfriend.”

“Are you saying Asexual?”

“Aromantic,” T.J. corrected. “He’s one of my best friends, and he loves the handholding, and the cuddling, and kissing...but the other parts about being a boyfriend? He’s better off being a best friend.” 

“I’ve always seen it the other way around, but...yeah…yeah I see that,” Farkle said thinking. “Lucas?” 

“He’s straight...but…”

“But?”

“He loves them both equally,” T.J. said. “You wanted to know what I know from baseball practice, but I think he actually loves them both equally and he’s so confused and it’s not normal for him, because he thinks he has to love someone more, and he has no idea how to love two people.”

“I love them both too,” Farkle said. “Called them my wives, but I never meant that. Doesn’t mean I love them any less.” 

“Lucas isn’t the one who you were trying to fully figure out though, is it?”

“I knew you were smart T.J.,” he said. “Riley?”

T.J. leaned back. “What does she call Maya?”

“Her sister.”

“Did she ever love Lucas like a brother?”

“She said she did.”

“And you’ve seen her with her actual brother. How’s that?”

“Nothing like the way she loved Lucas.”

“And Maya?”

Farkle looked up and let out a little laugh. “You’re coming to the same conclusion I am, huh? So...here’s your math lesson for today T.J., how would you solve the love triangle, if they were your friends?”

“Riley and Lucas are my friends, and I’m sure Maya would be if she went to school with us. But something always annoyed me about the term ‘love triangles.’”

“What’s that?” 

“It’s really always one person in the middle with two prongs reaching out to the other people who like that person.” 

“That’s not really a solution though?”

“My solution is to turn the two pronged love fork into an actual triangle,” he said. “You love them more than I do, you’ve always loved them, and you know them. You want them to solve their love triangle? See if the solution is to complete it and give it a third side.

* * *

**Maya**

“I never knew a gender reveal party could be so much fun!” Maya said laughing as they came back into their room. 

“Well, it’s not a typical gender reveal party,” Andi said, closing the door, and putting her stuff down. “It was Alex coming out as a trans dude.” Both of them had white clothes on, but it was covered in pink and blue powder from the party, and Andi bent down to start taking off her heels. “Still, I haven’t had this much fun since…well, this one party I threw last year. Life changing party for all of my friends.”

“Anything life changing happen to you there?”

“Not fully. For me it was telling people that I was coming here to SAVA, and settling this one and off thing I had with Jonah on a pretty good ‘off,’ while my friends got together with the people they were meant to be with.”

“At least you finally figured it out,” Maya said. “You’re not in a limbo hell.”

“Like you?” 

Maya sighed. “Huckleberry heart is to damn big for his chest. He wouldn’t choose without both of us being there, and he’s indecisive…” she looked down at her previously pure white jean jacket, now covered in pink and blue, and some parts of it overlapped into purple. She was starting to think that purple was her new favorite color. 

“Thinking about him?”

“About Riley, actually,” she said with a laugh. “She would have loved that party, especially at the prospect of coming out purple. She loved purple. Our middle school art teacher had to ban the color purple...and drawing cats...because of her.”

“She painted purple cats?”

“She only painted purple cats,” Maya said with a smile. “She’d have purple paint right up her arms, all the way to her elbows. God bless her new art teacher.”

“You talk about her a lot,” Andi said. 

“You also talk a lot about your friends...Cyrus, Buffy...you talk a lot about Amber too.”

“Yeah, Amber was a totally different type of friend for me. She used to this gorgeous, blonde, mean, angry…”

“Are you describing me?” Maya joked. 

Andi laughed. “No, Amber was like, really mean...but she changed for the better. She just needed help being a good person. And she still kept a bit of a wild side, helping me experiment and doing things I would have never thought of before. It didn’t always work out for the best, like this high school party I went to where I didn’t feel safe, but in a way, I’m glad I did it. I stepped out of my comfort zone with her.” 

“That’s what I was for Riley,” she said. “We went to a college party...and she somehow pledged herself to a sorority.”

“That’s…” Andi laughed. 

“That’s Riley. She was carried away by some girls, and came back a pledge with secret handshakes and everything. It was her first time properly sneaking out...and she changed my life for the better. Because of her, my mom got remarried to her dad’s best friend, and now I have a dad. He adopted me a few months before I came here.”

“Wow, she seems like an amazing person.” 

“She is…” she said, looking at the purple patches on her jacket. “I can’t wait to see her at Cyrus’s party in a few weeks.”

“It’s not his party, it’s his cousin Ally’s Bat Mitzvah,” Andi said. “And I can’t wait either. All of my friends, and your friends…”

“They’re already friends with each other, Andi, and we’re friends with each other, what about we make the one giant friend group thing real?”

“Well, you do talk about your friends a lot,” Andi said. “So do my friends on our FaceTime calls...I kinda feel like I already know them.”

Maya laughed a little. “You remind me of her...of Riley.”

“I do?”

“Boundless optimism, perpetual smiles, paint a purple cat and you’re set,” she said laughing.

“Is that why you like me then?” 

“Maybe,” she said, smiling. Why was her face getting hot?

“Well you remind me of Amber, you know. Without the mean first impression. The fun Amber who became a really good friend to me.” Andi smiled and looked down, tucking her short hair behind her ear. 

“That sounds like a huge compliment,” she said. “You really like Amber, don’t you?”

“What?! I mean...yeah...I...I like her...she’s a good friend…” Andi mumbled. Maya frowned. 

“I know that stutter…that’s a Riley falling on Lucas’s lap in the subway stutter.”

“What?” 

“Andi, I told you this story.”

“Right...right…”

Maya paused. “Andi...do you like Amber?”

She sighed. “I...I don’t know. I mean...I didn’t even think it was really possible...I mean, I knew about people liking people of the same gender, but it didn’t really hit me until Cyrus’s Bar Mitzvah, when he told me he liked Jonah the same way I did.”

“You haven’t thought about it?”

“Have you?” Andi asked, shocking Maya and making her stumble back a little. 

“What? Andi, what are you talking about?”

“You get this look in your eyes when you talk about Riley, don’t think I didn’t notice.”

“No...no I don’t like Riley like that! I love her like...a sister…” she paused. “The same way I thought she and Lucas liked each other when I pretended to be her and I secretly liked him…”

“And you talk about me and Walker having a complicated relationship,” Andi mumbled. 

“Do I like Riley?” Maya asked quietly. “Do I like girls?”

“Do I like girls?” Andi asked to herself at the same time. “Do I like Amber?”

They both sat on Andi’s bed, letting the silence settle between them. “I miss the bay window.”

“That’s where you and Riley had important talks, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you have a place?”

“Andi Shack. I crafted in there, worked through my feelings, talked to all the important people in my life there...Even helped come up with one of my dad’s proposals to my mom there. But when I got into SAVA, I cleaned it out.”

“And the original bay window is still at Riley’s old apartment in New York, and the one she built in her new room is all the way over there.”

“Well...what would you say if you were in the bay window right now?” 

Maya paused, thinking, before sighing. “I’d say...if this was the bay window, you’d probably be Riley...and I would say something like...I’m confused about my feelings.” She looked up and saw Andi paying attention, and nodding for her to go on. “I like Lucas...but I think...I might also like girls…” She looked down and saw Andi’s comforting hand on top of her own. “And I think that maybe I like brown-eyed girls who always see the best in every situation and who never stop smiling no matter what crazy thing life throws at them…” She looked up at Andi, who was looking at her with such care, compassion, empathy. How could two girls that seem so different be so similar? “And if this was Andi Shack? What would you say?”

“If Amber wasn’t there...I’d talk to Buffy or Cyrus, and I’d tell them...Actually I wouldn’t say anything to start off. I would...craft something…When I liked Jonah, I made him a bracelet. Amber then took that bracelet and that bracelet became like...a zombie. Now that bracelet is the friendship Jonah and I have. For Amber...I’d make her...I’d make her a locket. She’s allowed to wear necklaces at work in the diner, but not bracelets or rings...and I’d put a canoe charm on the front, and a picture of us before we went to the high school party inside it. And then, I’d braid the string with different shades of pink and a light shade of leather like her hair...and then Buffy and Cyrus would see it, and they’d start interrogate me...until I would just...be forced to admit it.” 

“And what would you admit?” 

“That...I might like girls the same way I like boys...that maybe when she and Jonah got back together after me and Jonah broke up, that when I was jealous, I thought I was jealous because I wanted to date Jonah, but I was actually jealous that Amber was the one who wasn’t available anymore...and that when she told me that she wanted to tell Jonah she loved him, and I was sure I was over him, I couldn’t explain why it hurt so much and now I know it’s because I was jealous that Amber’s love went to him and not to me…” She said, and took a breath. “Wow…”

“Wow indeed…” Maya said. “Do you really think that?”

“Maybe? Kind of a night of realizations…” 

“I mean...I don’t even know if there’s a way for me to figure out if I’m really into girls…”

Their eyes met, and they both blushed and looked down. “You know, a really dumb idea came into my head…”

“Yeah, I got a stupid idea too…”

“It’s really stupid.”

“So dumb…”

“Really dumb…”

“Like how could we even really think about it?”

“Yeah…” They blushed and looked down again. 

“Do you…” Andi slowly looked up and met Maya’s eyes. “You know?”

“I mean...only if we promise that nothing changes,” Maya said. “Do you think that’s possible?”

“I kissed Walker,” Andi pointed out. And I helped him do a big ask for Buffy...even though that didn’t work out for them in the end for totally different reasons…”

“So…?” Maya asked.

“So…”

They stared at each other for much longer, both of them fidgeting nervously. “This is the part of teenage exploration they don’t exactly teach you about in health class, huh?”

“Yeah,” Andi said, laughing nervously. 

“I mean...it’s just a kiss…Like in school plays. Riley was able to kiss Lucas in the school play as Romeo and Juliet...hell, even the both of us kissed Farkle in that play…Don’t ask, long story.”

“I’ll ask later.”

“Right. So...how should we do it?” 

“Just...lean in?”

“Yeah. On three?”

“This has got to be the most awkward kiss in history.”

“Farkle once made out with my hand on the subway, but this can take second place,” Maya joked. They both laughed a little, still awkward, but feeling it lighten up slightly. They looked at each other, and then Maya decided to cut to it, and swooped in, pecking Andi on the lips. “There, a kiss.”

“Well, that wasn’t...enough to process our feelings...or at least, mine…”

“Yeah, but it got the initial awkwardness out of the way.”

“True…” Andi said. “Real one this time?”

Maya nodded, feeling her heart speed up a little. “Real one.” 

This time, they both leaned in, and gently pressed their lips together, still holding hands, and Maya felt Andi give her hand a squeeze. Slowly, they pulled apart again. 

“That was…”

“Not bad,” Maya said. “You’re a pretty good kisser.”

“Thanks, you too. But…”

“Did it help you? With your feelings?”

“It did, yeah,” Andi said. “That entire time, I kept thinking that I wish it was Amber...no offense.”

“None taken. I was thinking the exact same thing, except not Amber. I wanted it to be Riley. Now I have another problem.”

“What’s that?”

“Riley is my closest and oldest friend. If I pursue this...what if I lose her for good? I don’t know if I can handle that. She’s...she’s too important.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah…”

“So…what do we do?” Andi asked her. “We’ll see them all in a few weeks…”

“Yeah...we will. What will you do?”

“Um….”


End file.
